Bad Boys Don't Need Friends
by Kirra kills
Summary: Ghoul gets taken back to his 'loving' parents and Terry's mother guilt-trips him into becoming friends with the gothic teen. Plus, seeing how his uncle is the infamous scarecrow, Wayne agrees it might be a good idea to keep an eye on the kid. Terry thinks it's a drag and Ghoul finds it plain annoying. Can these two actually become friends?
1. Coming Home

Ghoul looked around in undisguised disgust. There was a reason he'd left the 'rich boy' scene in the first place. Glamorous, flashy, and totally empty. Maybe being a criminal and the lowest of the low of Gotham was a dangerous and rather bleak lifestyle, but he'd had family in it. Now, the Dee Dees were holed up with their grandmother, Bonkwas getting a true burial (the one good thing in this mess), Chucko was in jail for pedophilia (a fat man in his 30's, who knew?), larceny, attempted murder and grand theft auto. Woof was…who knew where. Ghoul was assuming that PETA had gotten a hold of him, as he was more hyena than human now. And as for Ghoul himself?

"Oh, _Stewie_! We're so glad to have you back!" Gushed Mrs. Amelia Winthrop, coddling her cringing son as she looked directly at the cameras. His father clapped him on the back, laughing at 'his little scamp' of a son. Ghoul clenched his fists and glared sullenly at the camera. It had been a few weeks since-surprisingly not Batman but cops and child welfare services had found them in their hidey-hole and had called, in Ghoul's case his parents, in the Dee Dee's case their grandmother, in Woof's case animal services, Bonk's case (who was buried in the back lot) the morgue, and in Chucko's case his estranged wife and two kids. Ew.

Since getting their 'darling little boy back' it was nothing but cameras and press and rehab-not that Ghoul needed it, he'd managed to stay clean through all the years he'd been a runaway-and his parents had eaten up the attention their family reunion had gotten them. It was rather sick and made him wish he had a parent more like Bruce Wayne. Rich like his parents, sure, but look how he'd raised his adopted sons! Those guys were allowed to do what they wanted, _and seemed to have a good relationship with their adopted parent_! Plus, the way he treated his assistant, the one kid they roughed up once under orders of Joker. What was his name…? Anyway, he had a great relationship with the old man, it did seem like a great father/son relationship.

A lot better than Ghoul and his parents. On good days he was ignored and allowed to do whatever the hell he wanted, as long as it didn't embarrass them, and on bad days it was constant screaming matches about how he had to take after Uncle Crane and look like a creepy reject from that cult classic "The Wizard of Oz". It bugged the hell out of Ghoul. Same as his name. He _hated_ that blasted name. Call him anything, shit-face, dead-boy, freak, Ghoul (which had been a cruel nickname from his school days that had just stuck since he actually liked it) but woe to you if you actually called him Stewart. Maybe he wasn't the best fighter, but as most things nowadays, including much of anyone's social life, was online, he could make your life a living hell with a simple little hack, a well-placed rumor, and let's not forget the all-powerful tool of photoshop.

And so, despite his parent's needling and begging and annoying, he stayed holed up in his room, hacking for the fun of it, ruining past tormentors lives and…stalking the new batman. He couldn't help it; this kid (he knew that much from what hints and insane ramblings Joker had dropped when he forgot anyone was in the same room with him) was fast, strong, had a great wit and could throw enemies three times his size around like it was nothing. Though, of course, it was debatable how much of this was the kid's doing and how much was the most likely cyberkinetic suit. Ghoul rubbed his arm in thought, thinking of the recurring dreams where he had a cyberkinetic arm/buzzsaw. That would actually be cool, but the dreams of being tortured(mentally, it was always mentally, though getting held over the edge of a building by his foot was really terrifying) by not one but _two_ Batmans and Bruce Wayne, and admitting he wet the bed until he was fourteen (being verbally and physically abused by parents and servants will do that) weren't.

Suddenly, a sharp pain hit his shoulder and he jumped, forced out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry, what?" He realized some news person was asking him a question. And his mother was giving him a strained smile. Oh boy. Ghoul gave an inward sigh. He was going to hear about this later. "I'm sorry, he's still a little out of it, after his harrowing experience at the hands of the Jokerz" everyone present laughed at that as Ghol gritted his teeth. He refrained from saying what was on his mind-that he'd been treated better by even Batman than he had by his own parents. At least the Batman hadn't locked him in small, dark rooms or refused to do anything when he'd woken up screaming from nightmares. Sure, Batman was terrifying, but not as bad as the Winthrops. Ghoul forced himself to focus and smiled at the reporter woman, who flinched from the attempt, so he dropped it. "Can you repeat the question, please?" He said politely, and she swallowed, composed herself and put on a bright, fake smile. He'd rather have Joker or J-man's or even Batman's sarcastic smile any day. The fake made his stomach churn.

"So, uh, Stewart-" He folded his arms and gave her another smile. He didn't care if it scared the hell out of her, this one was supposed to. "Ghoul, please. All my friends called me that, I've…gotten used to it" strained chuckles as the newswoman backtracked and processed this, before pasting the smile yet again on her face. "Alright, _Ghoul_, what will you do now that you're home again?" He paused and thought over his words carefully. The obvious response for him was 'runaway again and this time don't use the damn moneycard I got when I was thirteen, no matter how bad in need of a hospital someone is" but he said instead what everyone expected. "Learn to live here again, maybe make friends, I don't know, I guess have fun" another squeeze of his shoulder and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Spend quality time with my parents too, yea. That's what I'll do"

There were a few more questions after that. Was he dating anyone? No. Was he looking for anyone? No. Was he going to cut his hair? Hell no. Despite what mommy and daddy said, Ghoul _liked _his long hair, _liked_ having pale skin (he'd been forced to get the little mutation he paid for reversed and so it was so long grey skin. They couldn't remove the scars and stitches, thank you titanium alloy thread) eventually the interview was over and Ghoul was led back up the long drive way to…he'd never call this empty place home.

* * *

Terry watched the interview with a mix of disgust and boredom. Was it just him, or did Ghoul look absolutely miserable. Granted, the guy never really looked _happy_, but this was just painful. They'd made him wash his face too. The heavy mascara, eyeliner and stage make-up had been removed and now? He just looked tired. The rings around his eyes looked natural, and… "I always knew those all black eyes were contact lenses" Ghoul had been _way _too devoted to his undead image. It was really rather funny. Well, it _would_ have been funny if Terry didn't sort of know Ghoul. Weak and much better on the computer than in actual fighting though he was, he was devoted to his friends. And now, everyone had taken his friends and freedom away. Terry sighed. Curse him and his bleeding heart. he was the one giving Ghoul a beat down every other week, didn't that mean he was supposed to be detached about the whole thing? Now the blond kid was where he wouldn't die from a rotten deal or accidentally falling off a roof. Still though…

Mary McGinnis came into that room at that moment and stared at the screen, hands on hips as she assessed the situation. "That poor kid. His parents are using this to get publicity" Terry looked over at his mother. There were moments when he was convinced she had the sixth sense. "Mom, he's a punk. He can take care of himself" Mary looked at her son with a piercing eye. "I want you to befriend him, Terry" Terry gaped at her. "Mom-" She shook her head. "You're Mr. Wayne's assistant, I'm sure that can get you somewhere in that society. It would be good for him" Terry frowned and faced the screen again. He'd spied on that particular Jokerz group once or twice after the whole Joker incident. Just to make sure they weren't trying anything, or that one of them wasn't dead on the floor. It was mostly to make sure nobody was burying any more people in the back lot. Honestly… and really, it didn't seem he and Ghoul had much in common. 'Legal assassin' not being one of Terry's favorite things to listen to. And then there was the taste in style. Seriously, was Ghoul's closet filled with nothing but ratted things too nasty for even the dump? If there was ever a zombie apocalypse, Ghoul would fit right in.

Mary moved in front of her son, blocking the television screen. She had her arms folded. Oh, boy. She meant business. Terry sighed and muted the screen, looking tiredly up at his mother. "What?" she frowned down at him. "Terry, you were a bad kid. You got home at all hours of the night, were part of a g_ang-_" Terry shifted his eyes away from his mom, feeling guilty suddenly. "Mom come on, I was never part of the Jokerz" Mary rolled her eyes and sighed. "All I'm saying is give him a chance, Ter" She leaned down and stroked his hair, smiling. "Maybe all he needs to be a good kid is a good influence. Look at Mr. Wayne to you. Don't you want to at least help the kid out?" Terry squirmed for a few minutes before sighing. Curse him and his bleeding heart. "…Fine mom, fine. I'll see what I can do" Mary Mcginnis just smiled.


	2. Talking

"…You want me to get you into the good graces of Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop so you can befriend their son as per request of your mother" Bruce Wayne raised his eyebrow over steepled fingers at his protégé. Terry shrugged helplessly. "Mom pointed out I'd have probably gone back to the gang if I hadn't met you. So, she wants me to be a good influence on him" He folded his arms. "Not like I think I'd really make an impression, or get along with him. He's got creepy taste in music. And clothes and-" "Terry" Terry stopped talking immediately and looked at Bruce. Bruce's half-smile vanished and Terry wasn't sure if it had been there at all. The old man turned to his computers and began typing something in.

"You're familiar with fear toxin, yes?" Terry rolled his eyes. "Uh, yea. I got sprayed in the face with it, remember? By you. For training. Jeez, is your memory going now?" Bruce hit the 'ENTER' key and news clippings and old videos of reports came up, as well as official looking files. "Do you know who first created the fear toxin?" Terry scratched his head. The old man had taught him this ages ago, but it was hard to…the guy had a name of a bird, right? Crow, Wren, Bluejay, Robin…no, that was the name of the Bat's sidekicks. "…Crane, right?" Wayne gave a nod in confirmation and Terry raised his eyebrows. Wow, he'd been guessing on that one.

"Doctor Jonathon Crane. Also known as the Scarecrow. He went mad on his own gas. He was a former doctor in Arkham Asylum. He wanted the city to know what true fear was" Terry gave a low whistle. "Looks like Ghoul, kind of" He looked over at his mentor, eyebrow raised. "What, you think Ghoul is some sort of major fanboy or something?" Bruce shook his head. "Try nephew" Terry's jaw dropped. "No way" Bruce just looked at him and Terry shook his head. "Okay, Okay, not that surprising, I guess. Explains the outfit and shit. But what, you think Ghoul's going to follow in dear Uncle Crane's footsteps?" Terry may have been joking but Wayne's face said 'yes. Yes I do' Terry groaned. "So I would have had to keep an eye on him no matter what, then" Bruce gave a slight smile. "I think it's a good idea if you follow your mom's advice, McGinnis"

"Stew-uh, _Ghoul_, someone's here to see you" the blond teen sighed. Must be Wayne's assistant his mother had told him he was going to start hanging out with from now on. Ghoul paused his music and swiveled in his chair to stare down the maid. Huh, she was new. She soon started trembling under his gaze and he waved her off, going back to his computer. "Tell them to fuck off" He turned back to his computer and was about to start searching a certain annoying teacher who gave him hell in the third grade when- "Well, that just fills me with cheery vibes" Ghoul spun back around, eyes wide. "You! The hell did you get in here? Go away" Terry rolled his eyes and walked into the dark and gloomy room. "Yea, the guy who beat you up because you threw his girlfriend off a balcony in a nightclub!" Ghoul's eyes shifted and he shrugged slightly. "Hey…it wasn't my fault, man. I was under orders" he began advancing and Ghoul began backing up on his-thankfully wheeled-swivel chair. "Your maid let me in here, Winthrop, and no. I'm not going to leave" Ghoul stared at him "…you two going steady?" Terry backtracked at the unexpected question. "Yea…" Ghoul grimaced. "That's one annoying, nagging bitch!" Terry's fists clenched. "Hey!" Ghoul raised his hands, face showing that yes, he was freaked by the sudden anger. "Just speaking my mind, man. I generally avoid girls like that, is all"

It was Terry's turn to smirk, then. "What do you call the Dee Dees, then?" Ghoul frowned, paused what he was going to say, thought about it, and conceded with a nod. "Touché" He turned back to his computer, hearing the almost silent footfalls of the other teen as he walked into the room and closer to Ghoul. "What are you doing?" Ghoul shrugged almost imperceptibly. "Doing research on my new 'playmate'" it was almost funny how it took Terry McGinnis, (who liked fried chicken, had been a member of a gang, had a loving mother and 'twerp' of a younger brother, not to mention his father allegedly being murdered by Jokerz) a few minutes to figure out what he meant.

The blond teen had already a notion of how strong the other was, but this was taking it to a new level. He was almost ripped out of his seat with how hard Terry grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. He was livid. Even staring into a face that rivaled the face of an angry and insane Delia, Ghoul managed to smile. "What? Don't like people knowing your past? Yea, I wouldn't be too proud of the stint in Ju-" he never finished his sentence as he suddenly found himself on the ground with a throbbing (and probably swelling) Jaw and a very angry teenager standing over him. Oh, right, those parts he'd glanced over on Terry's files. A hot-head with several years in wrestling and boxing. Yea, getting him riled up wasn't the best idea.

Terry clenched his fists and forced himself to calm down, admittedly feeling a little-well a _lot_ actually-guilty about punching him. Ghoul had been trying to tick Terry off and the teen had walked right into it. Stupid moron that he really was. And he was supposed to be the new Dark Knight? If the old man found out about this he'd never hear the end of it. Terry crouched in front of the blond with an apologetic smile. "Listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten ticked at that. It is a bit of a touchy subject, but I'm over it. Being Wayne's assistant helped that" Ghoul narrowed his eyes and batted the offered hand away, getting up on his own and making his way over to his computer, pulling his chair behind him and sitting down with a languid grace most girls would kill to have.

"McGinnis, I am not a 'project' for you to take up and work on. You being here has nothing to do with your own benefit, someone told you to come here and be nice to me so hopefully I don't go round the bender and go back to being a criminal" Terry stood up and scratched his head. "…That obvious?" Ghoul waved a hand, not looking at him. "You are one of the few people I cannot read like a book, but yes. It wasn't hard to piece together, with the overheard snatches of conversation that the servants let drop. Hm…" He trailed off as he fell inside his own mind and wandered down a train of thought. Perhaps it would be a good idea to invest in a sound-proof door (not that anyone seemed to be bothered by his still there whimpers of terror and screams of remembered pain, but it would keep the annoying conversations out and his more private life in. That was important) the gothic boy jumped as McGinnis touched his arm, reminding Ghoul the annoying black-haired errand boy of Wayne's was still there. He gave a long suffering sigh, put his computer to sleep, and whirled around so he could look Terry in the eye.

"Well, sit down, then. It seems the fastest way to get rid of you is letting you sit here for an hour and 'talk' with me" Terry raised an eyebrow, and looked around, finding an old barstool in the corner of the room. Ghoul didn't bother pointing out the more comfortable seat hidden in the dark of his bedroom. As far as he was concerned, the stupid muscle-bound black haired twit didn't deserve a comfy seat. He'd punched him for crying out loud!

They sat staring at each other for what Ghoul estimated to be close to half an hour. He had a weird habit about always being right about that sort of thing, his 'internal clock' seemed to be wired to Northern Pacific time. It was handy if the gang didn't have a working clock and he was using an old dinosaur of a computer that didn't display the time in the corner (surprisingly the things were still around, and a few still worked. Handy if cops were getting wise to hacking; the oldies didn't leave a trace that could be easily detected by new scanners and tech) Terry was giving him a slight, knowing smirk. As if he was well aware that Ghoul had been buffing the Dee Dee's family's funds with 'borrowed' money from some oil tycoon in East Asia. Ghoul felt like attempting to wipe that smirk off of the other's face. Not that he'd get far; he'd probably fail epically and get another swollen cheek for his efforts.

"So. You and the hyena guy, huh?" Ghoul blinked as he was forced out of his thoughts. Honestly, could people not let someone just sit and _think_? Morons… he processed the question and made a slight look of disgust. Not at the idea, but at the way everyone assumed. "No, not me and Woof. He's dating someone else. However, sharing a bed is necessary when nobody can get a 1994 era heater to work for more than three hours and it's a cold freeze. Honestly" his carefully neutral voice seemed to be more bruising to Terry's ego and knowing smile than a scathing tone would have been. Interesting. he'd have to remember to use that more often. He decided to continue this thread of conversation just to prolong the uneasy look on Terry's face. "Yes, I'll go for guys just as soon as girls-I'm bi. But Woof and I've just always been good friends, even when he was fully human"

Ghoul stood up and stretched, walking lithly to the mini-fridge he'd insisted get installed so he didn't have to come down and sit through an hour a night of 'family dinners' with his insufferable parents. Ghoul pulled some chilled soda out, putting it to his swollen and stinging cheek. "Mother informed you of my…preferences, didn't she? I'm assuming she also grilled you on whether or not you share the same views and whether or not you will lead me back into a criminal and unsavory lifestyle, given your background and the fact you're not…" He paused and gauged Terry. Tense, a little shocked (so he'd been right. Well, he'd have to be a little nicer to mother. Even if she cared more about image than him, he could still appreciate the gesture) but not angry and it didn't appear like he was going to attack him again. Good. Ghoul continued with a slight sneer. At his parents, not Terry. Honestly, the chance to rant was too good to pass up, even if he'd already decided he didn't like the black-haired teen. "The fact that you are not 'blue-blood' or 'rich' and all you have going for you is connections" Terry coughed into his hand and Ghoul gave a grin of victory. "This interview is over, Mr. McGinnis" Ghoul shook his head and walked around his bed and to the window, the only light in his room since his computer was asleep. "Come again next week. Or don't. I don't care"

Terry gritted his teeth at the profile of the gothic teen by the window. Honestly…he'd let the techie make him look like a right fool. Not that this was the first time, but it was more bearable with Max. he opened his mouth to say the hour wasn't over and how did Ghoul know anyway when he didn't even glance at a watch-bare wrists, no clock in his room, and then looked down at his cell phone and blinked. "How did you know?" a dry laugh and the profile shifted, Terry knew well enough that it was probably Ghoul shifting from right leg to left and folding his arms. "Internal clock, McGinnis. Now vamoose. I've got things to do" Terry rolled his eyes and got up, rather relieved because he was starting to get antsy, and walked to the door, starting to smirk. "Sure thing, _Stewie_" He was out the door and had it just about closed when the crash and tinkle of a glass paperweight hit right where Terry's head was, barring the four inches of oak door that got in the way. Damn, he'd forgotten Ghoul had a throwing arm like a baseball pro. He'd have to be careful not to forget that in the next few meetings.

"So, how did it go?" Terry groaned and ran his hand through his hair, looking at his boss. "Ever felt like a bug under a microscope and the guy looking at you knows a lot more about you than you do?" The former Batman rewarded his protégé with a rare smile. "Sounds like Ghoul is following in the good doctor's footsteps. Crane was a genius, could pull you apart with a few words and well placed observations" He looked at the files and pictures still on the screen. Terry grimaced. Yea, that's exactly what it had felt like. "Scarecrow never figured out who you were, though, right? So I'm safe" Bruce Wayne gave him an almost batglare. "I'd be careful if I were you" Terry sighed. Nothing could ever be simple, could it?


	3. 0rAclE

Ghoul tapped his fingers against his desk idly, playing a game of cat and mouse with a rather interesting fellow hacker- 0rAclE- this little 'friend' had been hounding him for the last few nights, accessing his personal computer, getting only the decoy files before he got to them and shut them out. They were also following him around in his little hackings and photoshopping and tapping into billionaire's accounts. A few times, they'd shut him down. He was the better hacker, to be sure, but this person was good, and he was having fun for the first time in the weeks since he'd come home. "What natural disaster happened to make you look so happy?"

Ghoul sighed and hit 'send' on his little virus-surprise for his new friend. Now whenever 0rAclE got too close, or attempted to hack into his personal files, a grey smiley face with black rings around the eyes and bloody tears would pop up to the sound of the infamous Kefka laugh, and all his personal favorite gaming horror-stories mains would march across the screen as the words '**maybe next time**' flashed behind the smiley face. Since it was a sleeper virus and designed to move once one part was deleted, he had a feeling '0rAclE' was going to develop a headache for the next week or two, perfect time for him to develop something more fun for them both to play. And deal with the annoying McGinnis who was breathing down his neck.

Terry raised an eyebrow. He wasn't nuts about hacking or computers-they each served their purpose-but he knew a virus when he saw one. Huh, he hoped the thing wasn't aimed at anyone he knew. Though he wouldn't be surprised. This _was_ Ghoul. He forced himself to focus on the piercing grey eyes, and-huh, so the ex-clown _did_ have eyebrows after all-an eyebrow raised with the steepled fingers brushing the bridge of his nose. Take away the blond hair, which was in a pony today, maybe lack of shower…? And replace it with brownish red, and it was almost the spitting image of the good doctor and master of terror himself. Almost. He needed the suits still. And to get rid of those combat boots. Then he'd really look like a Little Crane. "Well? Are you going to continue the staring, or are we going to 'talk' again" He'd put his computer to sleep again, Terry noticed.

Terry raised his hands. "Hey, 'Silence of the Lambs' much? Drop the Hannibal act and sure, we can talk" During the last week after their first meeting Terry had been subjected to watching recordings of Crane being interviewed-both before and after his fall into the persona of Scarecrow. He was scary smart, very much a modern day Sherlock Holmes. Because of the last meeting with Ghoul Terry had studied Crane to get an idea for the creepy directness he'd been subject to last time. Ghoul sighed and rolled his head, popping sounds coming from a neck that had been too still for far too long. He smiled slightly as he did so, the smile just as creepy as when he had the make-up on. "Mmm…Hannibal. I didn't know you watched classics, Terry" Terry shrugged, a flippant smile on his lips. "Well, guess that computer of yours can't tell you everything, can it?" slightly narrowed eyes told him he'd hit a nerve. "It was on the T.V. once. Weird, but interesting"

Ghoul shrugged, accepting the answer and leaning back in his chair. "So, I remind you of the great Hannibal the Cannibal, huh? I'd be almost honored but…yea, I don't really like him. And I'm a vegetarian" Terry blinked. "Really?" Ghoul laughed and spun once in his chair, feeling absurdly happy at the fact the black-haired teen had bought that. "No. But I really don't like Hannibal. He reminds me too much of someone" "Really? Who?" Ghoul waggled his finger. "Ah, that's my secret, Tiny Terry"

This time Ghoul was expecting Terry to attack him and he got out of the way as Terry lunged for him. Really, the whole thing reminded him of Batman, only this guy talked more, was more flippant, and was actually trying to be nice. Maybe he should stop riling up Terry, his parents were a little nicer since last week, and his mom was downright over the moon when he'd…thanked her…it still felt weird. Though now that he thought about it, if Terry was gone, it meant no more okay parents and back to screaming matches and onset of nightmares. And he was too leery of VR Rooms to get what he wanted, so, he'd have to play nice. Lovely. During thinking this he was dodging blows and lunges-not because it was easy for him, but when someone isn't hooked up to a target tracker, it made things infinitely easier to dodge. Though in the end he was knocked off his feet again. "There, now you look halfway healthy!" Ghoul got up carefully, watching Terry's half taunting, half sorry face as he felt his new swollen cheek. He got the joke, two swollen cheeks, instead of making him look like he'd gotten a beating, filled his gaunt face and made him look like a normal person. Someone who ate right and slept at normal hours.

"Ha ha McGinnis. You going to punch me every time we meet?" He went back to his fridge and once again pulling out a soda. He debated getting one for Terry, but ultimately decided against it. Stupid morons who thought with their fists didn't deserve a soda. Ghoul heard shuffling and knew Terry did feel bad about it. Hm… he was a guilty one, wasn't he? Or did he just feel bad that he'd let the skeletal teen get the best of his anger again? Probably the latter. "Gauging another's personality is the best way to escape the boredom of being here again" he murmured, deciding to be a little nice. "Don't react so easily to my needling if you feel bad about punching me" not all his cuts and bruises were from Batman, after all. Quite a few were from the ones who found his psycho-analyzing from absolute boredom to be both creepy and annoying. Not that he could really help it; it seemed it was sort of hard-wired into who he was.

Terry sighed. "Sorry. I just…don't do that, okay? It bugs the hell out of me" Ghoul thought for a moment and nodded. "Deal" He didn't push on whether it was calling Terry by random nicknames or the psycho-analyzing. He beckoned for Terry to follow walked to his computer chair, motioning that Terry could sit down as well. Which, he did. Again on the barstool and again Ghoul declined from pointing out the better chair. He'd been compared to Hannibal! Only Delia could pull of the crazy of Hannibal! Or the Creeper or Joker… He forced himself to focus and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Again, we've wasted a half an hour. What do you want to talk about now?" Terry gave him a look. "Again, creepy. Can't you, I don't know…" "Act normally? No. one, I can't seem to, and two, why do I want to?" He pushed up the sleeves to the rather ratty sweater he was wearing and showed off the stitched lines on his wrists and arms with pride. "Being something odd and strange is better than being bored, you know?" obviously McGinnis was torn about that.

"I'm getting you out of this bedroom next week" Ghoul almost choked on his own air. "No, you're not. You're really not" He had a feeling he was going to have to get used to that look in Terry's eye-the one that said if he had to, he'd blow up a fucking space station. The scary almost-batman look. "I'm taking you out next week" The blond smirked. "My, cheating on your girlfriend, McGinnis? And here I thought you didn't even swing that way" Terry backtracked and the face was just _so_ funny Ghoul had to cover his mouth and turn away in case his snicker would cause Terry to hit him again. God, he'd been hanging around the Deeds way too long. "No! I-it's just as friends okay?!" Ghoul shrugged. "I know. I couldn't resist. You keep underestimating me; it's too easy to take advantage of that"

They lapsed into silence and Terry watched the blond watch him. He was stewing over the last sentence. He was right; it was far too hard to not underestimate Ghoul, the hair and clothes and preferred activities, and there was the fact that every time he'd met Ghoul as Batman, they'd not only never actually talked, but it was pathetically easy to knock him out. Now that he thought about it, hadn't it been easy for Wayne to knock out Crane, as well? What, was being ridiculously easy to punch out and preferring ridiculous costumes (okay, he couldn't talk, he looked more like a cat than an actual bat, but who's keeping tabs, anyway?) part of their villain strategy? If it was, he was going to put Ghoul on the top of his Rogues list just for that. Seriously….Ghoul snapped his fingers at Terry. "End of session. Out unless…" He smirked and tilted his head as Terry reddened slightly. "Wow, I guess mom was right; my rugged good looks brings in all types!" He leaned in close to Ghoul. "So, that why you rile me up? Because you're interested?" Well? If he was going to get those sorts of jabs, why not jab…okay wrong way to word that. He dodged the object thrown at him-an empty picture frame (why did Ghoul _have_ that?)- and walked out of the room, grinning. "Later~"

Ghoul flipped off Terry's back and woke his computer up. On his screen was a magenta smiley face fist-pumping the air. At the bottom of the screen was a chibi Sheik standing victoriously on top of a pile of his little line-up of horror story characters. Behind in flashing blue and green was "**NICE TRY 3**" he'd muted his computer but he could imagine what was being played. If it were him, it would be one of the victory songs from Final Fantasy. Ghoul stared at the screen for several moments and then "_SHIT_!"


	4. Trust Issues

"Okay, turn here" "Look, this is Mr. Wayne's car. If this gets it ruined or stolen in any way, you're paying for it" "…Duly noted" Terry rolled his eyes at the gaunt boy next to him, perched on the very edge of his seat, seatbelt taught around his waist, looking out of the windshield with wide and searching eyes. Terry sighed as Ghoul pointed out a few more turns and they ended up in Hacker territory. Huh. "You socialized with more than Jokerz, then?" Ghoul looked at Terry with a 'are you pretending, or are you really that dumb?' look and nodded for Terry to pull up into one of the dilapidated parking lots. Ghoul had the belt unbuckled and was halfway out of the car before Terry had fully braked. "HEY!" Terry unbuckled his own seatbelt and lunged, grabbing Ghoul's wrist and pulling him back into the car. Ghoul gritted his teeth in annoyance. "What? I wasn't trying to run away, you've got a car! You'd run me down before I got twenty feet" Terry raised an eyebrow. "You know this area of the city far better than I do. You'd lose me" Ghoul sighed theatrically and shook his wrist free of Terry's hand. "My, so you _do_ have a brain. I owe someone forty dollars and six internet codes" "Who do you owe?" Ghoul turned around and looked at Terry with a leer. "I said _someone_ for a reason. Though I think it's a she. Another hacker going by the name '0rAclE', she said, and I quote 'Terry isn't a stupid ignoramic monkey, his test scores are too high'"

The black-haired teen rolled his eyes, a bit affronted. "You called me a stupid ignoramic monkey?" Ghoul leaned into the backseat and pulled out the bag he'd brought with him, which, when Terry had peeked into it, was full of jump-drives. "Not the point. The _point_ is, you're not as stupid as you appear" The blond got fully out of the car and slammed the door shut, waiting for Terry to come around to his side before heading to one of the buildings. "That sort of is the point…hey, where are we going?" Ghoul gritted his teeth. He was going to have to deal with this insufferable moron today? For _more_ than an hour? The guy who couldn't keep his fists to himself? It was going to be a long day…

"we're going to a code convention-a sort of festival, kind of. Anyway, this one has new games made by fellow computer nerds so while I'm trading info and hacks and codes-" He held up the bag and Terry understood that each of those jump-drives held special information that was probably getting traded similar to Creds. "While I'm dealing, you can play the games" Terry tilted his head. "And if you give me the slip while I'm playing these home-made or bootleg games?" Ghoul faltered slightly in his step and Terry snorted. Busted. "Look, Commissioner Gordon gave me _handcuffs_ and I'm not against handcuffing us together to keep you from running Ghoul" the blond looked up at the sky and muttered what sounded suspiciously like 'It's like being babysat by a toddler'. Terry promised himself he was getting the rich-boy back for that comment later. They both sighed silently. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Terry fidgeted with boredom and the urge to go and change into his Batsuit and arrest every one of these pasty techno-freaks. Though if he did, there was the problem of not catching them all, and he knew with a cold certainty that Ghoul would probably be one of the ones that got away. The goth in question looked over his shoulder at Terry as his transaction ended and on a whim decided to have mercy on his 'babysitter' who looked decidedly out of place in his surroundings. Ghoul collected his 'purchase'-a new hack and blueprints into one of the WaynePowers facilities and pulled on Terry's coat, yanking the black-haired teen in the direction of the games. Terry made an interesting squawking noise, but quickly caught on and followed Ghoul.

Ghoul looked at the games with detached interest as Terry beside him gawked. The games ranged from homebrews like 'Booster Gold and Doctor Who: Ultimate Timeline Smackdown' and 'My Little Massacre: Revenge of Pinkamina' to direct lifts from military programs that were modded for civilian use. "Hey. Are these legal?" Ghoul almost facepalmed at the question. For someone who acted so jaded, Terry was heartbreakingly naïve. "No, most of these are not legal. Half of these guys are going to most likely end up in prison in the next three months because of these games shut down or confiscated. However," Ghoul grinned and wagged a finger in Terry's shocked face. "That doesn't mean we can't chat up the vendors and enjoy the games right now" Terry gave a wry and slightly disbelieving smile at what he was doing as Ghoul pulled him over to one of the military lifted games.

"So, what am I looking at?" Ghoul eyed the game critically as the skinny kid with a bowler-cut (that apparently Terry knew) stumbled over himself to explain. Ghoul grimaced as he couldn't understand the half-mumbled and stuttered words and looked over at Terry, who was glaring daggers into the kid. "Would you calm down? Whatever he's done to you, he's not doing it now. I want to know more about this" Terry closed his eyes and looked away as Ghoul went back to-the nametag said 'Willie Watt'. Watt gave him a thankful look and nodded at his game proudly. "I took it from a training facility near Battery City; the program is a state-of-the-art. Designed to train and heighten reflexes and dexterity" Willie leaned forward with a devious grin on his face. "I heard it was designed for the new Batman" That got Terry's attention then. He pulled out the Creds needed to try the game (six Creds or four mechasuit hacks) "Hook me up" Ghoul blinked, surprised, but grinned and pulled out the hacks needed. "Make that both of us"

Terry looked around nervously with the helmet and the gloves on. There were also cloth booties he and Ghoul had had to put on, but they weren't really noticeable so he ignored them and looked at the virtual world through the helmet lense. He didn't like Willie at the best of times, the telekinetic had almost killed him (both as Terry and as Batman) a few different times, and had destroyed plenty of property when he was annoyed, which was often, but he had to hand it to the kid; this bootleg version of a training simulator he had yet to receive was pretty cool, maybe he could convince the old man to use this version and not the most likely sterile and not video-game like official program. The virtual world was what appeared to be a dystopic area of floating buildings, islands, and 'monsters'. He looked down at his avatar's outfit-a sort of Japanese-y tunic and leggings in black and red. There were other elements to his outfit he couldn't really identify, but he had a feeling it was some sort of soldier wear. He could only assume he looked like something from one of the old non-4D virtual reality games as when he looked at Ghoul, the goth looked like his old self, the tattered orange and black, mixed with some sort of freedom fighter gear.

In real life, Terry knew he was on a sort of treadmill, though it was long enough for him to jump and do a roll if he needed. It was a crude version of his own training room in the Batcave. Someone unseen tapped his helmet and Terry reacted by batting at the unseen hand. The perpetrator laughed. "Right, they're working. Okay, goal is receive no damage while you're running, don't stop till you reach the goal. It's a sakura tree with a red lantern on the branch. Story: you're fugitives from the law of Neo Gothica City. Blondie, you're a rebel and information techie of the Clown Syndicate, McGinnis, you're a rogue cop on the run after the city you fought to protect turned on you. You're both on the run and decided to team up to reach safety" Terry could almost hear Ghoul roll his eyes as he responded dryly. "Come up with that just now, did you? Story needs work, but I commend you on the spur of the moment story-telling skills" Terry turned his head to Ghoul. "Um, I wouldn't annoy him; he's got control of the difficulty level" he could also mention the explosive temper and the telekinesis, but as Terry was already trusting Willie this much, mentioning that would probably be stupid and a moot point.

Music started-Terry didn't know who it was, but it was from an old band-and they began running. Terry smiled grimly half a minute into it. Yea, typical Bruce, getting the most back-breakingly difficult program he could find to subject Terry to in his never-ceasing efforts to create the perfect Batman Gotham needed. No matter what flew at you, you had to make sure you were still moving forward. Dodge, duck, roll, jump, but don't stop, keep going. It was exhausting.

"_I always knew I'd never reach perfection,_

_And if I_ did _I wasn't trying hard enough_"

Huh…he'd have to get the old man to listen to this song; maybe he'd get a hint and let up. Though Terry doubted it, it couldn't hurt to try… "Watch out" He flinched reflexively at the warning and almost didn't dodge the 'planet' he had to roll under to avoid. Terry risked a glance at Ghoul, who was a bit behind him, and obviously out of breath, but not doing too bad. "Thanks" He looked forward again and grinned grimly as he saw the sakura tree in the distance. A last dash and he reached it, Ghoul getting there a few seconds after him, with damage. Terry grinned. "Looks like I win" Ghoul scowled as they took off their helmets. "It wasn't a fucking competition!" Terry gave him a 'oh really' look and gave Willie his equipment back, Ghoul following suit and growling softly under his breath. After a few minutes of them walking, he groaned and began heading for the exit. Terry double-checked and hurried to catch up with him. "Hey! What's up?" Ghoul rubbed his temple. "Unless you want to get _arrested_, we're leaving" Terry saved the rest of his questions for when they got in the car.

They pulled out of the garage and were on the street when two police cars went whizzing by. Terry blinked and looked at Ghoul. "Um, how did you know the cops were coming?" If this was sixth sense, he'd never showed it in any of their encounters when Terry was Batman. And if he was developing a psychic ability, the old man was going to hound Terry until he'd found the reason. Ghoul rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "I noticed some twips were hacking into the police mainframe, creating a _game_ out of it. Total morons, the way they were going at it, of _course_ the cops were going to get alerted to it. The commishioner, the one you seem to be acquainted with-" "Hey, she's Wayne's ex. Of course I'll know her. She comes over to make sure the old man hasn't died" Ghoul gave a nod to indicate he was filing that away for later and continued. "The lady's a fucking whiz at computers. Not as good as I am, but she's good. Unless it's one of the better hackers-and those two _weren't_, she'll catch them" Terry smirked as he focused on the road. "Would you be able to pull off a hack under Gordon's nose?" Ghoul grinned like the cat who got the mouse, cream, and fucking canary in one fell swoop. "I've done it twice to break some Jokerz out of jail. They thought it was an electrical bug, too bad they seemed to have wised up to it by the time I got there though…" He stared moodily at the ground and Terry shrugged. "I don't think they wised up to it, besides Gordon, Gotham's finest should be called Gotham's specials" that got a snort of laughter from the ex-criminal. "They probably figured that a hacker and a computer together would be a bad idea" another dry chuckle, and Terry smiled slightly.

They sat in silence until Terry pulled into the drive of Ghoul's home. The skinny teen got out and looked shrewdly over at Terry. "This doesn't make us friends" Terry blinked, then rolled his eyes. "Yea, I know. You're the prince of paranoia, but you're not weasling out of next week" Ghoul narrowed his eyes slightly. "What are we doing next week?" at this point Terry became extremely animated, leaning over and slamming the door closed, revving the engines and grinning at Ghoul. "You're coming to a fair hosted by my high school with me and a few friends next week. Okay, gotta go by-see ya~!" Ghoul stared dumbstruck as Terry peeled out of the driveway, and then grumbled as he made his way up the steps and into the house. Stupid black-haired teen. Although, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little pleased. Another excuse to get away from his house and constant monitoring of his parents. _Yes_!

* * *

Terry looked anywhere but the cold blue eyes boring into his soul. "You took a hacker to a convention for hackers, and were almost caught by the police" Terry grimaced. "Okay, in my defense, I didn't know where he was taking me" "So you follow like a sheep. If he gave you directions to take the car off a cliff, would you have followed without question?" Terry swallowed. "Well, no…" Bruce Wayne was out of the chair and staring Terry down in less than a minute. "_Have you forgotten who he is?! **WHAT** he is?! What he's done?! And don't tell me he's changed, Terry! It's too soon for that_!" Terry bowed under the tirade, until finally snapping and looking up angrily. "Look, I won't make that mistake again, okay?! I know it's too soon for him to change! I won't make the same mistake!" He glared at Bruce, who didn't look surprised, just calculating, and stormed up the stairs. For the moment, he was done with the old man. But, he would take his words to heart. He wasn't going to be so trusting with Ghoul again.


	5. The Carnival

"You're not wearing that" Ghoul leaned against the doorframe and gave his new playmate a look. "Yes I am. Your school has no dress code, I can wear whatever I want to this" Terry raised an eyebrow and took in the ripped skinny jeans, combat boots, chains, tight light orange shirt (that seemed to be a little to small, or was Ghoul just more comfortable in belly shirts?) and a tattered suit-jacket. Terry shook his head. "No-one's going to want to get near you!" even the girls who were attracted to danger, because Ghoul was letting loose an aura of pure crazy today. It probably had something to do with the obvious lack of sleep (Terry had to ask if he'd put his infamous eye-make-up on. He hadn't) and sense of lack of well-being. Though, girls attracted to _crazy_ might go for him. Ghoul snapped him out of his thoughts with a smirk and a sauntering past him. "That's the point, McGinnis. Now, let's go before I say 'to hell with this' and go back to bed. I've actually had some success sleeping as of…twenty-four hours ago" Terry followed Ghoul, glowering at his back. "You really need to talk to a doctor about your sleep issues" Ghoul held up a finger, not turning around. "One, I have. They say its genetics, depression and extreme paranoia. None of the medications offered has helped. Two, insomnia makes for a wonderful help when I'm in a time crunch on a deadline to anything, and have to forego sleep" He reached his front door a few feet ahead of Terry, shoving the butler out of the way so he could open the door himself. (he really had nothing _against_ his butler, the man was more of a father than his actual father was, and had made sure Ghoul had some rules and regulations to live his life by. Hmm…he should give the man a thank-you card. The talks about drugs had helped when he was a runaway) "Besides, when your dreams are nothing but nightmares, sleep is highly overrated" He muttered. He wasn't sure if Terry had heard the last part, kind of hoped he hadn't.

* * *

Terry joined Ghoul on the steps and looked at the car, Dana in the driver's seat (it being her car) and Max in the back, wearing a Sheik shirt. "What? I told you Dana was driving, the old man wouldn't let me borrow his car this time, and I don't have a car of my own" Ghoul sighed. "Well, good thing I brought my phone. I'll probably need to write a will before this is all done" He waved at the unhappy looking Dana Tan and vaulted over the back door of her convertible, landing smoothly beside Max. he raised an eyebrow at her shirt, and smirked. "I like your viruses. Cheeky" She smirked back at him. "You're not too shabby yourself, LivingDeath" They shared a laugh as Terry came over and got in the front seat with Dana, who huffed and tossed her head, not looking at him. "Don't you dare smile at me, I'm still pissed at you" Terry looked at her. "Aw, come on Dana! He's…okay he's not _different_ and-" "Haven't changed either, Terry. But that's okay, keep digging, this is kind of funny. By the way, Miss Tan, nice car. Most of the Jokerz wished they had something like this, smooth" Dana paused, palms on the wheel as her fingers twitched above it, debating whether or not to respond. In the end, the polite side won out and she turned and gave Ghoul a curt nod. "Thanks. But you're in the doghouse too so if you say one more thing on the ride there, I'm throwing you out of the car on a four-story highway. Don't hit anything on the way down" Ghoul's sheepish/frightened smile was enough indicator he got the innuendo and understood and respected the threat. Terry sunk lower in his seat as Dana directed her glare from Ghoul to him. Oh, yea, the threat was directed at him too. Both boys glared at Max, who was laughing her head off at the whole situation.

The car drive lasted an hour and in relative silence, Dana drumming her fingers on the wheel as she effectively ignored Terry and talked with Max, or sang along to whatever was on the radio. Terry looked anxiously at Dana and Ghoul stared noncommittally at the passing scenery, his hair flying around his head. Max smirked at the back of the blond's head. She'd already guessed her 'date' for today was her little friend from the internet. It was kind of obvious when he used monikers like 'DeAdSCaRedOFCrOWS' or 'LivingDeath' or 'ScareCrowIsDead' or her personal favorite 'IMTeAmZomBiE'. Though, she knew that Terry was still clueless as to who '0rAclE' was. Even if Ghoul had outright stated it a few minutes ago. She knew the old man had caught on early on into her usage of it, and had even given her a little background to the name. Barbara Gordon had chosen the name after she'd become paralyzed by Joker and had been forced to hang up her cape. Personally, it had been a giggle-moment from being hopped up on caffeine and a hell of a lot of jelly beans, as well as some old-school videogames on her computer. Though the mythology homework she'd had that night probably helped in the decision too.

Max was snapped out of her thoughts by pale fingers snapping in her face as Ghoul frowned at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and he pointed at the school coming up in the distance. Max smirked. "Dana, we're almost there, can you let the boys talk now?" A long and drawn out sigh before Dana nodded. She held up a warning finger behind her at Ghoul, though. "_You_ don't talk to me. No talking, no touching and if I get even the tiniest inclination you're going to lick me, carry me, or whatever, I _will_ tazer you" Ghoul nodded quickly as Max looked at him, smirking. "You licked her? Seriously?" Ghoul buried his face in his hands and had to be prodded into moving when they pulled up at the fair.

They had a loose group, Dana and Max in the front and Terry and Ghoul a few feet behind them. Ghoul had snagged some of the free cotton candy and was eating it as he looked around. A modest carnival for a modest school on a modest income. Translation? Carnival games, some cheap rides, and face painting. Oh, and snacks. He idly thought of his gang, Dee Dee would be fighting each other for the candy and the cute boys, Woof would be going nuts over that meat stand over there, Chucko would be doing a get-rich-quick scheme and going after the pretty girls (Ghoul still couldn't get over the fact the man was in his 30's. It was shudder worthy) and Bonk, when he was still alive, would be all over the games. Ghoul's throat contracted and he forced himself to think about other things.

"Oh…I am in so much trouble" muttered Terry and Ghoul double-checked at Terry, blinking at how dejected the normally cynical and upbeat teen was. "Why don't you play a game, win her something?" Terry looked at him. "Are you crazy? All the games are rigged. This is a fundraiser" Ghoul smirked. "You know two computer and math geniuses, and you're worried about losing a few carnival games?" Terry looked at him like he'd grown two heads. "Why are you being nice to me?" Ghoul shrugged. "I'm pretending this is a really lucid dream and I'm still with my friends. Maybe repressing things, but it works….okay, never mind. I reminded myself its reality" A heavy sigh and Terry rolled his eyes. He grabbed Ghoul's thin shoulder and pulled him to the booths, shouting at the girls to let them know the boys were no longer behind them. He glared at Ghoul with a look that rivaled his mentor's. "Okay, this had better work or you're going to wish you'd met with an 'unfortunate accident' while with the Jokerz, got it?" Ghoul gulped and nodded.

Dana smiled at Terry, feeling forgiving now that he'd actually won her a few different stuffed animals, one of which being a giant stuffed white unicorn with an electric blue mane and tail. She kissed him on the cheek as Ghoul rolled his eyes and turned away, to get some prizes for himself and his little tagalong Max, who seemed to be in on the babysitting act, lovely. He was enjoying the milk toss (knocking over milkcans with a ball. An oldies game they never changed, but still so enjoyable and gratifying) when he heard someone clearing their throat and turned around to see a group of boys in jerseys-jocks, yay. Just what he asked for. And a couple of cute girls, a blond and (he hoped for her sake that the white hair was dyed, because if it wasn't, she was looking at chronic baldness by 30) a white haired girl who both looked like they thought they were the hottest things since a supernova. He snorted and leaned against the booth, nudging the small pile of stuffed animals behind him as Max came to stand beside him. "Boys, girls, causing trouble or…?" The apparent ringleader of the group (though he was certain the white-haired chick had spurred it on, this guy looked like he couldn't tie his own shoes without help) grabbed Ghoul by his jacket lapels and held him close. "Listen, I don't know who you are, but this is a school thing, for students. and you aren't one, bub" Max stepped forward. "Nash, leave him alone. He's with me and Terry" Ghoul smirked and simply hung there in Nelson's hands. "Max, step back, this is between me and the blond gorilla here" Nelson gave what Ghoul assumed was a "what?!" only yelled and more guttural, and Ghoul gave a truly terrifying smile while kneeing Nelson Nash in the balls as hard as he could.

Techie or not, people bothering to teach him how to fight or not (nobody had, but the rudimentary gymnastics the Dee Dees had taught him helped, but he was a _Joker_, had worked under Joker. He knew how to fight dirty. And, the fact that nobody here was Batman helped. He had downed two and was holding off three when Terry and Dana came into the fray as peacekeepers. "What's going on?!" It was directed at Ghoul. Wonderful. Why was _he_ getting blamed? He straightened his jacket and smoothed his hair out of his face before deigning to respond. "The blond gorilla and his lackeys decided they were going to push me around. So I pushed back" Terry looked at the pale Nelson and raised an eyebrow. Nelson shrugged. "What?! He's not supposed to be here!" Terry crossed his arms. "I brought him here. It was a double date, me and Dana and Max and Ghoul here" Ghoul and Max looked at each other. News to them it was a double-date.

The white haired girl blinked and stepped forward. "Wait, Ghoul, like, the lost heir kid who was on T.V.? The rich boy?" She smirked and both she and the blond came up to Ghoul. "Hi, I'm Blade. Sorry about my friend there" The blond girl pushed 'Blade' away and smiled sickeningly sweet at Ghoul, who had a mix of surprise and disgust on his face at the both of them. "Hi, I'm Chelsea. You look…awesome" Ghoul actually had to push them off of him as their boyfriends reacted. "Yea…sorry, I'm not looking for a girlfriend at this moment" Chelsea leaned against him with a wide smile. "When you are, here's my number" She tucked a piece of paper into Ghoul's lapel pocket and he stepped back, causing her to stumble, only for Blade to latch onto him. "You can do _way_ better than Maxine-sorry sweetie" She smiled at the obviously offended Max and smirked over at the gawking boys. Ghoul rubbed his forehead and gritted his teeth. This, this was exactly why he so hated having people know he was rich. It was desperate girls and angry boys and people trying to take advantage of his money, his connections, everything. "You, no offence, are a step down from Max. At least talking to her is stimulating!" He finally shouted at the two girls and pushed them away. "You two keep talking and I actively feel my brain dying. I'd almost rather date one of your jockey lackeys than either of you, stupid plastic money and fame obsessed trophy girlfriends!" He turned from shocked faces and grabbed the pile of prizes, thrusting two at Max. He couldn't bring himself to actually kiss her, though he came close. It was just to piss off the two twips who kept coming onto him though and he couldn't do that to someone. Maybe it was his parent's way, but he'd never bow to something like that. Huh, a criminal with values. Who knew? He walked away from everyone, boiling with anger and frustration and wanting to be alone. He had to commend Terry for not sending anyone after him.

* * *

A few hours later, Terry was surprised to see Ghoul waiting in the car for them. The blond had his head cushioned his arms, resting on the top of the door of the convertible and appeared to be asleep. However, he opened his eyes when Terry stood over him and looked up at the teen, squinting as the sun was behind Terry's head. "…I don't know this side of town all that well. I had nowhere to go" Terry nodded, not buying it, but since no other explanation would be offered, he took it. "Dana's changed her opinion about you" Ghoul raised his eyebrows. "Huh. All it took was snapping and ranting at two gold-diggers? We should have gone to a club first, gotten that over with" Terry smiled slightly. "She's still convinced you've got the hots for her, and will not forget you pushed her off a balcony, and as such does not trust or really like you, but you've got her respect" Ghoul nodded. "Well, best I can hope for" He nodded at the girls as they came up and averted his eyes at the sympathetic look Max gave him.

"Hey, you okay?" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it" He smiled a little as she held his gifts in her lap. "Hey. Chess tonight? Or higher stakes contest?" Max laughed. "Oh, Casanova. Nah, I've got babysitting duty for Max's brother tonight. Maybe tomorrow?" Ghoul nodded. "I've got some new little tricks" Max smirked. "Looking forward to it, dude" Dana and Terry smiled a bit at the exchange in the backseats. If not a romance, then at least a good friendship.


	6. Babysitting

Ghoul folded his arms and looked down at the twip that was Terry's little brother and snorted. He was almost an exact replica of his big brother, but with dark brown eyes. And a sullen, petulant expression that Terry most certainly did _not_ have, even if he was beyond annoyed with people. Or, not that Ghoul had ever seen, that is. Then again, it wasn't like they really had spent an enormous amount of time together, which brought up a good point… "I'm not taking care of the kid brother. I don't care if Maxine has the flu and you've got work to do, I'm not taking care of him. I'm not that good with kids!"

Terry ground his teeth at the refusal but otherwise tried to remain calm as he attempted to keep Max from wandering into things that would scar him for life in Ghoul's room while at the same time keeping a firm gaze locked with Ghoul's annoyed one. "Come on! It's just for like…two hours! I'll make it up to you" Ghoul rolled his eyes and turned his head. "You don't have _anything_ to offer to make it up to me. Go have the twip play with his friends. If it's for two hours, like you said, it shouldn't matter" At this point Matt had finally gotten away from his brother (a kick to the knee will do wonders in getting people to release their holds, you know) and Ghoul found himself smirking slightly as Matt went straight to Ghoul's dusty and unused writing desk, where he kept his music that he was too lazy to put on his computer. "Whoa, are these original Fall Out Boy CDs? That's _so_ schway!" There was silence for a few minutes as Ghoul assessed the situation and Terry tried to melt into the floor. "I can go anywhere I want with the kid. I know some friends who have kids his age. It's about time I visited them"

Terry and Matt looked at each other then at Ghoul. Matt, on his part, was curious and excited. He was going on an adventure with an ex-con! Maybe he'd be able to bust a drug ring or something! Terry just looked at Ghoul. "Uh…can't you leave normally?" Ghoul gave Terry an 'are you stupid' look and lifted up the hem of one of his pants leg to show a thin metal bracelet on his foot. "Let's just say you're my parole officer, kay? I don't go anywhere from my room unless I'm with you. And the deal is off unless I get out. He is _not_ going to ruin any of my computers" Terry groaned slightly. He needed to go, the Splicers were terrorizing de-splicing centers again and had taken some of the staff hostage. Then, he came up with a plan. "Okay, I think I have an idea, listen up…"

* * *

A little while later, Ghoul and Matt were walking out of the back way of the mall and Terry was suiting up. Matt looked out of the corner of his eye at the tall gaunt teen beside him. He looked like a possessed scarecrow. But not as scary as the _real_ Scarecrow. Ghoul was just creepy, as though someone had decided to dress a corpse up for a Wizard of Oz joke. A very sick someone. Ghoul caught Matt's eyes and raised his eyebrows. "What?" Matt shook his head and looked away. How did you talk to someone like this? For once he was at a loss for words and they continued down the streets in relative silence, with Matt sneaking glances now and then and an annoyed Ghoul trying to pretend not to notice. Eventually they reached the subway and Ghoul couldn't take it anymore. "You got something to say twip? Or should I start charging for you to stare at me all day?" Matt scowled. "I'm not a twip! _You're_ the twip, dressing like a carnival loser and running around being stupid and going against Batman. Batman's the greatest! I don't even know why he put up with a weirdo like you"

Ghoul snorted. "Because I was a threat enough for him to go against me? I mean, maybe I wasn't ever the mastermind, but I got things done. And I had fun doing it. Guess you could say it was a sort of thrill, seeing how far I could get before Bats caught me" He shrugged and smirked slightly as Matt tried to hide his awe. A badguy who wanted to be a badguy and had fun doing what he did? And enjoyed annoying Batman? It reminded the eight-year old of himself and Terry. "So…the kind of villain you were was like me to Terry right? The little brother who loves getting a rise out of the big brother. That's…kind of cool" Ghoul paused. He'd never thought of it quite like that before. "I suppose. Does Terry send you to jail or rehab or a center or beat you up so badly you can hardly remember your own name from the pain?" Matt made a face. Put like that, it sounded awful! "For me, the thrill always made the pain worthwhile, but there are plenty of people who give up because it's not worth it to them" Ghoul smiled slightly and shrugged again. The kid was starting to grow on him. Probably a sign he was getting soft. Ah, well. He was starting to enjoy this kind of soft.

They rode the subway in relative silence, Matt peppering Ghoul with questions every few minutes and Ghoul giving a usually curt reply in return. ("Have you ever killed anyone?" "No" "Is your hair really blond? You've got black eyebrows is all…" "…I got an acid bath once" "No way, really?!" "Don't be stupid") Ghoul was privately both happy and disappointed that no Jokerz got on to bother people. Happy because he had a sneaking suspicion most of them considered him a traitor, and the fact he'd kept his family status to himself probably didn't help. Disappointed because, well…he still felt like one of them, still considered many allies or friends. And Matt getting cowed into silence was a very appealing idea. After a time, the ride ended and Ghoul led the way to the doors, exiting into a much shabbier area.

"So…where are we going, anyway? This place is creepy" Matt moved a little closer to Ghoul, even if he was thinking dismally that the tall lanky teen could get his ass handed to him by a rabbit. Maybe he could kick Ghoul in the knees so he fell over and then make a run for it if anything happened. That thought helped. Ghoul looked down a little warily at the little boy. He knew the kid was planning something that involved a certain goth getting hurt somehow…he could feel it. "We're in Old Gotham, more specifically, the slums. I have friends here, and I know kids your age. Granted, they'd rather throw paint balls at my head and hit me in the face with foam bats," story of his life, getting beaten on for the fun of it, "but I think you'd get along with them" Matt made a face, but decided to go along with it. Maybe he was more of a social butterfly than Terry, but his mom was still nagging him he needed more friends.

"Okay, who are these kids?" Ghoul smiled slightly. "Well, there's three. One's…you could say he's adopted. He goes by Dak. He loves supervillains and Batman, and wants to be a villain one day. I believe he spends most of his time in the subway. Weird hobby, but I can't really judge. Then, there's Amp. He's a good kid, a bit shy, but a good kid. He's metahuman, his power amplifies the powers around him. Useful, I guess. Unless he's fighting someone like say…Superman. It'd be like an electric impulse trying to take down an electric-powered thing. Okay, and finally there's Kale. She _was_ a runaway, but she got found and brought home" Matt blinked. "Um…you know a lot of weird and interesting people, don't you?" Ghoul chuckled. "Mmm, I suppose so…It's kind of the norm with what I do. Though I suppose heroes meet interesting people, too" Actually, he'd only heard about Kale and Amp. Amp had been kidnapped by the Brain Trust and Kale had run away when he'd last talked to their parents. Or, specifically, their father. He couldn't blame Kale for running away from Chucko. He made Ghoul's father look like father of the year.

Matt held back as Ghoul knocked on the door of a shabby looking apartment in a rundown apartment building, the kind that was open front, you walked up outside stairs to get to each individual door. He'd only ever seen these buildings get torn down. The door creaked open and a sturdy-built pre-teen glared warily through the crack, his eyes widening when he saw Ghoul, then he scowled. "What're you doing here? I thought you were too good for everyone now, slag. After all, you got that mansion…" Ghoul sighed, very annoyed. If I'd liked it so much, I wouldn't have run away, twip. Maybe I didn't have Bonk for a brother, but I did have good reason for running away, just like you Dak" He glanced back at a curious Matt and nodded. "Now stow your nasty words, I brought a kid I think you might have some things in common with. His name is Matt" Dak opened the door wider and glanced curiously at Matt as Matt took him in. about his size, burly, angry looking.

As Dak opened the door wider to look at Matt, Ghoul pushed his way in, leaning back to grab Matt and pull him in. the apartment was a bit dingier than Matt's, but it was fairly clean. Two other kids, a couple years older than Dak and Matt were on the couch. The girl looked up and smiled. "Ghoul! It's been awhile! Dad's in the kitchen. And after…if you can…can we catch up?" she smiled shyly and looked down, blushing, as the boy beside her rolled his eyes. Ghoul sighed and walked into the kitchen. And ducked as someone threw a beer bottle at his head. He was actually used to this, Chucko did it often enough. "You know, I was really surprised to find out that these two were your kids. Though it explains why your wife was always nice and cooking dinner for us when we needed a hide-away from Bats. Actually, this explains why she opened her door in the first place" Ghoul said quietly, over the "damn kids I told you to _stay out of the kitchen_!" The fat bald man paused and blinked. "Holy shit, the rich kid. So, decided you're good enough for us again, huh?" Ghoul sighed and stepped over the broken glass and spilled beer. "Stupid drunk. The only thing that keeps you sober is a good heist. Take that away and well…" Chucko blinked at him blearily. "Are you mocking me?"

Ghoul rolled his eyes and folded his arms. He wanted to say 'no shit, Sherlock' but he'd get another bottle thrown at him. It wasn't any fun talking to Chucko when he was drunk. He looked around and located a pad of paper and a pencil and wrote down a date and time. "I'll figure out a way to come back and talk to you. Right now, I'm taking the kids out for an hour. Because if I'm stuck with babysitting, I might as well go all the way…" He sighed again as Chucko looked at him without comprehension. It was useless talking to him, he wouldn't even notice the kids were gone, either.

Ghoul left Chucko to his drink and walked back into the livingroom, where Dak and Matt were having a heated conversation about heroes and villains and Batman. Kale was sitting on the couch looking lost in the conversation and Amp was adding random comments about a blond girl and a robot. Which transformed the conversation into a debate on what defined heroes and villains. Ghoul raised an eyebrow. Who said kids were stupid? This was as thought out and deep as any conversation he'd heard adults have. He waited until the conversation had wound down before clapping his hands. "Okay kiddies, we're going out for a bit. Chucko's impossible to talk to right now" Amp rolled his eyes and Dak snorted. "Well no _duh_. He's wasted like, every day now. You guys need to get back together. Then it'd be better" Ghoul smiled slightly. Of course it would be better, they'd never have to see him then. "We'll see how things pan out. Now come on, there's a hotdog stand with our names on it and an old playground we can eat at" Hotdogs might as well be the magic words for kids. He'd never known these three to turn down food, and even Matt seemed pretty happy at the idea.

* * *

"Dak, ask me if we can eat while walking one more time and I'll hit you over the head" "like that's a threat! You couldn't bruise a peach!" "And yet I can still do some damage when my fist manages to connect with anything" Matt shook his head at the conversation, and the rather deadly looks Dak and Ghoul were giving each other. They were being really stupid. He looked over at Amp and grinned. "Your sister has a crush on Ghoul, huh?" Amp smirked. "Obvious, huh? You know what's funny? He knows, too. He just ignores her. She's 13 and thinks she's old enough" both boys shook their heads at the silliness of girls. "Bet he only likes girls in black" "Bet he likes girls with gravestones for earrings" "Bet he likes girls who have zombie types for a name" Ghoul paused in the conversation with Dak as that grabbed his attention. The things you hear in the middle of conversations…

They reached the playground and Dak declared himself Bane as Amp called Blue Beetle and Matt called Batman. Ghoul snorted. It seemed oddly fitting, though he'd put Matt as Robin first. Or maybe make a Batboy and be done with it. He ignored the staring of Kale, used to it by now. He'd once chewed someone out for making fun of her Kittyhawk costume on Halloween, and she'd told him he reminded her of a friend. And then she'd gotten a crush on him. He didn't really mind, she was a good girl, and way not pushy. He'd date her if he thought the age difference and having next to nothing in common was alright. Stupid him and morality, it was why he'd never really tried to be a villain all on his own, instead of sticking as a lackey. Lackeys had some leeway. Villains? Nope. Still…it was gratifying, knowing he was on a Rogues list. How many lackeys could say _that_?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the yelling of the boys and looked over. _Shit_. T Gang! He was up and running to where they were roughing up the boys, pulling a switchblade out of his jacket pocket. He'd found it on the ground a few weeks before getting taken back home and had stuck it in his hat, so far in the point it didn't come loose. Stupid cops, they never even bothered to check. Not that it mattered him having it; he really wasn't good at weapons. Still, it felt weirdly natural having a sharp piece of metal in his left hand. It reminded him of a recurring dream now and then, though it had been a saw, not a blade…Ghoul reached the T holding Dak and slashed him on the bicep. Not deep, but enough to hurt. "Roughing up kids, really? And you say the Jokerz are bad!" okay, they also roughed up kids but come on. It wasn't like this was T territory. Unless it had changed since the last time he'd passed by….crap…

He rocked back as the guy hit him in a backhand, but managed to stay on his feet. At least the three had been let go, Dak because the guy was in pain and the other two to help their now bleeding friend. Ghoul waved at the boys to run away, hoping that they weren't going to be stupid and play at being heroes for real. Well, he was worried about Matt and Amp doing that. Dak would pull an 'every villain for himself' card. At least, he _hoped_ Dak would. He'd been a bit different after hanging out with Batman for a day. One of the T's stopped and looked at him. "Hey, I know you! You're that Joker freak! The one on T.V.!" Ghoul gritted his teeth. This new fame was getting annoying. He much preferred being an anonymous faceless Joker boy. But, _no_, he had to get his face plastered all over the media! Another T looked closer at him and grinned, pounding a fist into his hand lightly. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this…" Ghoul began backing up, away from-he glanced and was glad the kids seemed to have vanished-the direction the kids had most likely gone, still holding the knife at the ready, his eyes narrowed.

It wasn't going well. Just a few minutes and he was losing. Badly. Ghoul reeled at the punch into his jaw, and fell at the kick to his stomach. Incredibly, they hadn't tried knocking the knife out of his hand. Probably because they knew he wasn't very good at using it. Still, he'd given some hits of his own, but they were really minimal. This was why he shouldn't play hero. He sucked at it. Ghoul began getting up but was knocked over again, the T's closing in on him. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. "Hey, three against one. That's not a fair fight" Ghoul wasn't surprised when no blows came after _that_. He'd know that voice anywhere. Ghoul opened his eyes and sat up, looking at the rather ticked off looking Batman (the mask really didn't give off many expressions, but Ghoul figured you could tell by body language or jaw or something. Or maybe anyone who fought or talked to Batman just had a natural ability to know what he was feeling. Did that count as a psychic ability?) The Batman hovered a few feet above them, the rockets giving off a steady heat. He had his arms folded, though his voice was fairly upbeat.

"Whoa! Batman!" "Kick their asses!" Everyone looked over. It was Ghoul's little group, and a few more from the neighborhood. They were cheering. Well, not Dak. He was standing a bit away, just watching. Of course, he'd never been one for cheering. Suddenly, there was a black gloved hand in Ghoul's face. He recoiled until he realized that it was Batman's, offering to help him up. He cautiously took it and got to his feet. The T's were coming out of their stupor and had started advancing. Ghoul grimaced. If he hadn't been pegged as 'traitor' before this, getting helped by Batman would certainly do the trick. Batman looked at him. "It's your fight. I've been chasing them, but it's your fight" Ghoul snorted. "Yea, because I'm such a good fighter. Still…" He worked his jaw, feeling the pain blossom. "I'll take the guy on the far right. I already managed to cut him" Batman nodded and leaped at the other two as Ghoul ran to the T he'd singled out and jumped on the faltering man, latching on with his legs and alternating between punching and making shallow cuts on the face and shoulders.

Terry took out his two T's in record time before looking to see how Ghoul was doing. It looked like something out of a cartoon. No wonder he hardly ever actually fought. He was terrible. Terrible but effective. Still…Terry took a few steps to the side and stuck his foot out as the T ran screaming past him, trying to get the crazy blond goth off of him. The T tripped and fell hard as Ghoul tumbled unceremoniously off of him before he hit the ground. He stood up quickly, pocketing the knife and smoothing his clothes out.

"Thanks…" it took a lot for him to say that to someone he was not fond of and was the source of some of his nightmares and more interesting scars. Batman just nodded. He looked like he was about to leave, then paused. "You're bleeding" Ghoul blinked, and realized the warm sticky feeling in his hair wasn't sweat. He touched the cut on his forehead and shrugged. "It's not as bad as it looks" Batman shrugged and pointed over Ghoul's shoulder, a smirk in his voice. "Yea? Well, I'd let them fix you up. I think they might want to" Ghoul looked and blinked. The group of kids were walking up to him and Batman in awe, a few of them with Band-Aids in grubby hands. When Ghoul looked back to Batman, he was gone. The blond shrugged and kneeled for the kids to administer care. He was really hoping Terry wouldn't bring up his earlier comment about not liking kids, but he knew he would. No one he knew was going to let him live this down. Well, the ones he'd be able to find and talk to, anyway…

* * *

"-It was so awesome! And then Ghoul latched onto the guy like a tick and started punching him! And Dak and I decided that villains and heroes could be friends, sometimes, so it would be fine if he became my badguy" Finished Matt to an amused looking Terry as Ghoul slouched on his bed with an ice-pack on his jaw. Terry smiled and nodded at Matt. "Alright, I've got Mr. Wayne's car, go get in it. I'll be out in a minute" Matt paused. "Hey…can I change the station to anything I want?" Terry sighed. "As long as you turn it back before we get home, and it's not anything stupid, yes" Matt cheered and ran out of Ghoul's room. Ghoul chuckled. "I've never really been jealous of people with little siblings, but Matt's a good kid" Terry smiled wryly. There was a lot he'd like to say, but Ghoul might wonder at some of the questions so Terry compensated by putting his hand on the other teen's shoulder, making him look up in surprise. "Yea, he is. And thanks for saving him" Ghoul just stared at Terry for a moment before looking down. "You'd better go take him home before he decides to take that car and go crime-fighting. He was talking about that on our way back to the mall" Terry nodded and began hurrying to the door. He paused. "Thanks. Again. I'm serious" Ghoul sighed as Terry left and flopped backwards onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. He smiled wryly. "It feels good being praised, but I think I'll stick to villainy. Heroes don't actively try to kill you, just maim you" He began laughing, not noticing when it went from his laugh into something less sane and more…Scarecrow. He was already mostly asleep.


End file.
